Fandom:

The West Wing AU

Pairing:

C.J./Danny

Rating:

PG-13 for topic

Distribution:

How much do I owe you for hauling it off?

Spoilers:

Up to and including Full Disclosure, from which the series follows on

Email:

exfilia at livejournal dot com

Disclaimer:

if I owned them, they'd have a lot more fun

Warning:

mentions nonconsensual sex

Note:

Hoynes lovers should probably be hitting delete right about now.

"Your sister," Liz told C.J., "is seducing my daughter."

"I don't think she's Julia's type. Besides, I thought she was dating that guy from the Young Libertarians."

"She has Annie thinking a career in the military is glamorous and exciting."

"It is glamorous and exciting," C.J. said.

"So why didn't you?" asked Zoey. "I mean, it didn't occur to any of us, but your whole family...?"

"It didn't seem like a place where I'd be comfortable."

They looked at her in silent expectation. C.J. groped for words. Donna tried to save her.

"You knew communications was what you wanted to do?" she said.

"Not so much that. I was dating a girl I knew in high school."

In the silence after that they heard Hogan and Annie squeal at one of Julia's stories.

"So what happened?" asked Ainsley.

"She got pregnant."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. So I re-evaluated my sexuality, but it was a little late to talk to the ROTC people by that time."

"They have ROTC at Berkeley?" asked Ellie.

"Navy," said C.J., "but even at Berkeley they don't take you if you used to be openly gay."

"Does the president know?" asked Ainsley, and somehow C.J. was certain she didn't mean President Bartlet.

"I don't think it ever came up in conversation," C.J. told her. "I suppose he should know, though." She met Ainsley's eyes, and saw a quick nod.

"Is there anything else you're hiding from us?" asked Mandy.

"I don't think so," said C.J., "but in the near future you and I are going to have to have a long talk about that kind of thing."

"Give me a break, C.J., I'm stuck in Miami doing fundraisers for...."

"You like doing that?"

"They let me work part time when I was in chemo, but the White House needs someone who'll be there when they need them."

"So you're doing these fundraisers, but just part-time?"

"For now. Campaign season's about to start, though, and if I stay in remission, someone will want me. I'll be back."

"Bet on it," C.J. said.

"I wish we could go inside," Danny told Quentin, "but they're not doing public tours anymore. The offices Andrew Johnson used after Lincoln was assassinated are really special, full of nineteenth century antiques...."

"And walnut cornices carved with Treasury seals and cornucopias filled with coins," Quentin laughed. "My kids found that, researching Washington."

"You know how they restored it?" asked Sam. "Somebody found the original invoices for its furniture. At least that's what Danny told me."

"This is something White House correspondents write about?" asked Cecil.

"I had an intern a few of years ago, a Senator's kid, who wanted to be an architect. His dad made him study journalism, but you can imagine what he wanted to write about. I helped him with research. He had a piece in National Geographic in September, about synagogues in Toronto."

"I saw that," said Quentin. "He's good."

"You saw that?" Marcus said, scowling.

"You got a problem with that?" his brother said.

"I'm just wondering if there's anything Danny's ever been connected to that you're not familiar with."

"Nothing he's written since I knew he was dating my sister, but I don't suppose it occurred to either of you to check him out? And as a matter of fact I saw that particular article because we were evaluating it to use in a multicultural studies curriculum!"

"Could we do this in a somewhat lower voice?" asked Cecil.

"Please?" added Toby.

"I think we're about to have bigger problems than that," said Josh, his face ashen. He was looking past the Cregg brother to a man, a tall, handsome man with wavy hair and a ready smile who was pushing through the sidewalk cafe towards them with a can of Coke in his hand.

"Josh," he said, "who let you out on a workday? And who are your friends?"

"You don't want to know," said Toby.

"Yeah, he does," said Josh. "He really needs to meet these guys."

"I do?"

"Yep, you do. Some things are just fated to happen. You know Ed and Larry, right, C.J.'s aides? And Will?" No one offered to shake hands, and the newcomer blinked, obviously puzzled.

"And these," continued Josh, "are Marc and Cecil and Quentin, her brothers. Guys, I'd like you to meet John Hoynes, who used to be Vice President of the United States."